Last night's one-on-one debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was, essentially, a draw, with a very slight edge to Obama. The discussion was substantive and lively, and it was good to see the two act civilly for a change. Hillary Clinton seemed to dominate the first half of the debate. She showed her mastery of the political landscape and proved she has been a stellar student of the Senate these last seven years. But, when the discussion turned to fiscal policy and Iraq, two of the major issues this year, Obama seemed to overshadow Sen. Clinton. His comments on Republican fiscal policy and the wheels coming off John McCain's "Straight Talk Express" made it clear he is ready to take on the Republican front-runner in November. And on Iraq, he drew a clear contrast to Ms. Clinton, who really has nowhere to go when it comes to the subject. "Ready on day one" vs "Right on day one?" The answer, to this voter (who, by the way, saw the same exact scenario that Obama did in 2002), is pretty obvious.
On another note, Sen. Clinton needs to stop asking voters to judge her on her own merits and then follow it up by launching into a laundry list of the great things her husband did as president. She's trying to have it both ways and, while I agree with her that the Clinton administration was excellent in most areas (not all - "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act, anyone?), voters aren't going to fall for it.
But overall the debate was very close. I think Obama's arguments on Republican fiscal policy and Hillary's actions on Iraq, put him ever so slightly ahead.
